


Friend Like You

by SaraJaye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blanket Fic, Episode: s07e06 The Journey Within, Gen, Guilt, Hugs, Insecurity, Male Friendship, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 15:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16328831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Sometimes Lance wonders if he really deserves a friend like Hunk.





	Friend Like You

He's not the wuss Keith is when it comes to the cold, but he doesn't _like_ it. The Garrison was always properly heated, and growing up in a house full of people there was enough energy for the place to feel warm even when it wasn't. The Castleship's temperature is always maintained, and Red is the _fire_ Lion.

The Lions still need to recharge, and floating through space yelling at each other tends to make one tired. This planet they stopped on makes him almost _miss_ the floating and going crazy, though. Almost. He's still not proud of what he said to Keith back there, even if Keith brushed off the apology and told him not to worry about it, so it's probably better they sleep on solid ground tonight.

It's not the ice planet Shiro described waking up on after the battle with Zarkon, at least.

He chose to room with Hunk, since they shared a room back at the Garrison. Really, they've always been together when he thinks about it. The Garrison, finding the Yellow Lion, landing on that underwater planet with Queen Luxia.

Best friends. Even though Lance has come to realize he wasn't always so good at it. Back then, he was a self-centered attention hog who only cared about looking good and being special, dragging poor Hunk on his wild schemes, getting him in trouble. And Hunk's stayed by him, all this time, never holding even a single grudge.

Even now, with Lance all but hogging the only blanket. Hunk basically _gave_ it to him, saying he could keep warm with his own bulk, but he's shivering and Lance can't help but wonder if he even _deserves_ such a good friend. Floating out there confronted him with everything he hated about himself, he could actually feel his growth as a person evaporating as he yelled at his leader, snapped at everyone else, because deep down he still doesn't think he's worth much.

He unwraps the blanket from around himself and drapes half of it over Hunk, sliding closer until he's pressed against his side. They've done this before, whenever the heat _did_ go out at the Garrison, and he always acted silly about it. Like two guys couldn't share a blanket without it _meaning_ something.

"Hunh...?" Hunk turns over, eyes blinking open a bit. "Still cold, Lance?"

" _You_ looked cold. I...I don't want you to freeze in here." Lance sighs. "Hunk, I'm sorry."

"F'r what?"

"For being a pain, never listening to you back then, dragging you into stupid things, just being a lousy friend," he mumbles, burying his face in Hunk's shoulder. Hunk hugs him firmly, splaying a big hand against his back and rubbing in gentle circles.

"Hey, I wouldn't have stuck it out with you if I didn't think you were better than that deep down," he murmurs. "Sure, you were difficult, but when things were really looking back I knew I could count on you."

The words lift a bit of the guilt, and Lance pulls closer, hugging him back.

"And besides, I'm not perfect either," Hunk adds. "I mean, Pidge and I kinda crossed a line when we made fun of you about Allura. We didn't realize you were serious, or how down the whole Lotor thing was getting you." Funnily enough, Lance couldn't even be upset about that for long back then, and he'd almost forgotten about it until now.

"Hey, you two were just...look, I _know_ what I'm like around a pretty girl, or what I've been like. And I _was_ being a whiny jealous brat about the whole thing." He sighs. "Really, now I'm more upset that Lotor hurt her than I was about them being together."

"Liar." Hunk squeezes his shoulder. "We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, honest."

"Well, I had it coming for-"

He laughs.

"Some way to spend a night, playing the blame game only blaming ourselves. Look, man, we're family. And in a family, sometimes you get stepped on," he says. "I've done a fair share of stepping myself. But the important thing is we'd do anything for each other. Even give up the blanket so your scrawny friend can be warmer."

"It's still all yours if you want it."

"Nah." Lance nestles closer, relief settling in to replace the earlier lousy feelings. "This is way warmer. I mean, if you don't mind."

"It's no different from back at the Garrison." Hunk hugs him again. "And...I'm more comfortable this way, too."

Lance smiles for the first time since they landed, closing his eyes.

"Best friends for life?"

"Beyond life." Hunk yawns, and a pleasant drowsiness is soon settling over them both. For the first time in a long time, Lance feels secure. Like he _is_ the good person Hunk's always seen, and he resolves to be that guy more often from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> me: It's cold today, I'm gonna write me some blanketfic to warm up!  
> me: /ends up writing a few hundred words of Lance feeling like a bad friend and Hunk being the soft forgiving thing he is  
> me: welp


End file.
